Valerie Lawrence

This series of three photographs is a study of children's toys using dimensional and convoluted perspectivism. By distorting the size and coloration of the objects, the artist conveys a morphed image and challenges conventional meaning.

This polychromatic study of color explores the vibrancy of Asian cultures and the artist's family relationships while simultaneously presenting a brillancy of color content.

Linda Arreola

Surface series marks a pivotal move from the study of interior (skeletal) form to the investigation of the surface (skin) of a form. The work also examines ideas of energy an the relationship between negative and positive space-where repetition, simple form, basic color, and suspension create a collaboration which reveals energy in the spirit of three-dimensional form.

Jack Butler

Twinning Art with Evil is a vertical tryptich questioning the danger of overzealous culture worship. The final image satirizes the issues of ownership and control by juxtaposing the larger painting (by a famous artist) and the visually similar uniforms of the "black waiters." Resonating suggestively with the cross formed by the paintings, the scarlet brushwork aligns with the que of white diners, possibly anticipating Holy Communion.

Elanor Kay Diehl

Inspired by Mexican church and folk art in conjunction with Byzantine and early Christian art, an aura of contemporary power is transferred to the observer. Personal power objects fused with spiritual iconography are seen sanctuaries of the spirit that underscore the artist's perception of art as a healing mechanism.

Ottoman engages the industrial mediums of ceramic tile, cement, and styrofoam to transform the functional into a dynamic piece of artwork.

James Nickell

This dreamlike piece is both futuristic and reminicent of past automobile engineering- a technological depiction of the commuter spirit of CSLA students. Conceptually fantastic, Commuter Hotseat evokes many questions and allows many the viewer into the realm of the dreamscape by which it was inspired.

Frank Romero

Images from urban, Mexican and American cultures- flaming hearts, low riders, pyramids, skeletons, and the Corn Goddess- are images that tell narrations of Los Angeles, the political history of the Chicano movement, and the resurgence of ancient myths in the contemporary world.The Boyle Heights district of Los Angeles, which, during the 1940s and 1950s was a melting pot of families of Eastern European, Hispanic, and Asian descent, reflected a rich and contemporary folklore. Anecdotes involving heroic personal accounts of adaptation to life in a new country examine how people collectively and singularly tell an evolving, dynamic story of ancient mythos in a metropolitan setting.

Blair Townsend

These images are not fictionalized. They were discovered while doing what most Los Angelinos find themselves doing far too much-driving. When one realizes how these photographs were taken (the images were captured by the reflection of car headlights) one may pay closer attention to the more-than-banal visual possibilities in one's daily existence.

Elizabeth Bryant

The work uses familiar photographic imagery that depicts archetypal views of natural landscape. These images are generic yet still powerful in their evocation of the collective myth of Nature. Cut into these standard majestic landscapes are ground plans from historic gardens selected for their specific references to time, place, and the obsessive ordering of natural terrain.

Mary H. Hyun

Consisting of thirteen pieces, the Woman in Bloom celebrates the freedom to express harmonious relationships by introducing organic abstract shapes that depict the growth of woman as artist.
Korean cultural customs are often reinforced by familial and societal expectations to be a serving, selfless wife and mother runs contrary to the desire to express one's self as woman and as artist.

Drawn to the lawn ornaments out of curiosity, the artist is struck by the universality that seems to cross both economic and geographical boundaries. The intent of the prints are to include the geographic locations and the lawns on which these figures are placed. This series raises the viewer's interest as one ponders the need to replace a living creature with an ornamental facsimile.

Eddie Rivas

Artist: CSLA Alumnus Title: The Depths of Love-A Short Stop-At the end of the day which is stronger?Location: Board Room 303, U-SU Year: 1997 Type: Color Photographs From Polaroid Transfers Size: 49" x 39"

Media and advertising continually reinforce social contructs for men and women-how they should look, act, and obtain specific attributes in order to attract their prince or princess. Functioning under misconceptions and effective communication is rarely proposed as an answer to overcoming the obstacles within a relationship. The images were digitized and manipulated in order to illustrate the exploitation in advertising. Due to the nature of the Polaroid transfer, one must accept the process and its attributes as well as its faults. In like manner, one must accept people and their characteristics in order to nurture a successful relationship.

Mika M. Cho

All of the emotions meld to make one whole are colors and stages of sentiment, where the mixed media of water, acrylic, and oil colors present textures, qualities, and characteristics that come together metaphor for the human condition.

Mika M. Cho

No one is completely black or white; we all fall somewhere in between. These paintings represent a series of the artist's friends' values on a scale used to describe the colorful dimensions of human existence.

Davis & Davis

Just as cherished toys recall the joys and warmth of a happy childhood, lost and abandoned toys may also retain repressed memories of adolescent trauma or deep-seated guilt associated with the playing of forbidden games. For this series, the artists stage psychodramas on miniature sets with toys portraying the conflicted children who have left their playthings behind, then photograph them with a shallow focus suggesting the bleariness of memory.

Daniel Douke

This work attempts technical handmade perfection existing in real three-dimensional space. Ultimately becoming more than a verification of reality, La Palma de Vargas represents beauty and power as dangerous elements within humanity.

Michael Henderson

Inspired by a clash of modern and historical ritual, this work explores the trend of body art-piercing tattoo, and scarring their bodies in the name of art and adornment. Traditional applications of these same pocesses are linked to and based upon traditional initiations and ritualistic spiritual meanings. Untitled-Brown is a visualization of feminine dignity and strength, where the bead design reflects female anatomy. The composition represents the historical and evolutionary role of women and the relational experience between the aesthetic and spiritualistic selves.

Francisco Mora

Enriched by his roots in two countries- Mexico and the United States-the artist's work reflects the union of these two diverse cultures. The subject matter encompasses both the struggles reflected in his native Mexico and the common human concerns felt worldwide. Along with reflections on power, humanity's fragilities, demons, souls, and religious beliefs, these paintings are bold, aggressive and brave, presenting the vast and diverse cultures which the artist embraces.

LA Monte Westmoreland

The Red Series is a direct reaction from the Pasadena firestorm of I993. As a result of this disaster, the artist lost everything, including his home and personal art collection of 25 years. In this I992-established series, red is symbolic of flames, while black is symbolic of the billowy dark smoke.